Party food: Southwestern Egg Rolls

Better than the pepper restaurant's, these Southwestern Egg Rolls will have fans of their own.

Sink your
teeth into some crispy fried goodness.
These southwestern egg rolls are crunchy, spicy, a bit sweet, and
creamy. Your next party just isn't complete without them.

A better east
meets west egg roll

I have to
admit that I’m not a big fan of Chili’s food.
It’s all pretty safe, chain store stuff and for the most part doesn't interest
me. That being said there are a couple
items that I do like, namely the Southwest Eggs Rolls and the Garlic-Lime
Shrimp.

The original
recipe I found for these egg rolls came from topsecretrecipes.com, but I couldn't help but to think that the recipe could be improved upon, and that it would be
easy enough to make at home. With the
simple additions of fresh spinach, fresh lemon and lime juices, fresh cilantro,
and some bold seasonings these egg rolls are elevated from chain store
expectations to table cloth standards.

Be sure to
serve them at your next gathering and watch your guests beg for more.

Southwestern
egg rolls are perfect party food

What really
makes these egg rolls shine is that while they are fantastic right out of the
fryer, they are equally good at room temperature. No need to break out the chaffing dish for
this one. Simply fry them up, arrange on
a suitable platter, serve them with the avocado-ranch dipping sauce and some
good salsa, and all will be well.

Because the
wrapper is a tortilla the egg rolls never lose their crispness, even at room
temperature. Nice right?

This recipe
makes 25-27 egg rolls. Make the whole
recipe and either freeze the filling, or you can freeze the assembled
egg rolls. What’s great about freezing
the completed egg rolls is that you can fry them from frozen. As a matter of fact, you should put them in
the freezer for at least a couple of hours before frying.

Ingredients
for egg rolls:

2lg. Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Kosher salt,
cayenne pepper, cumin, fajita seasoning

2tbsp Olive oil

1med. White onion (chopped)

4-5cloves Garlic (chopped)

1lg Jalapeno (chopped)

10oz. Fresh baby spinach

1can Black beans (rinsed)

10oz. Frozen corn (whole kernel)

1 Lemon (juiced)

1 Lime (juiced)

¼C Fresh cilantro (chopped)

8oz. Monterrey jack cheese (shredded)

25-30 Flour tortillas

1egg Beaten (with 2tbsp water)

Ingredients
for avocado-ranch dipping sauce:

1 Avocado (skinned, seeded, and mashed)

½C Sour cream

½C Mayonnaise

¼C Buttermilk

½ Lemon (juiced)

½ Lime (juiced)

All-purpose
seasoning to taste

Method:

Combine all
of the ingredients for the avocado-ranch dipping sauce in a suitable bowl and refrigerate
for 2 hours or more.

Preheat gas
or barbecue grill, or sauté pan.

Season the
chicken breast with salt and spices on both sides.

Tip: Split
the chicken breasts length ways and season all four sides. Not only will they cook much faster, but you
can introduce twice the amount of flavor.

Grill or sauté
the chicken until just done, and remove to a plate to cool.

Put the oil in
a 5-7qt. dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Once the oil
is hot and shimmering, sauté the onions and jalapenos until soft.